(11/30/12 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

One rainy night last November, we reported on a shooting at a South Delridge bus stop.

While it was over fast, and the victim survived his leg wounds, it apparently has reverberated ever since, according to what Seattle Police Gang Unit representatives told the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council last night.

Not only did an SPD Gang Unit detective attend, so did the lieutenant who is in charge of the Robbery and Fugitives Units as well as the Gang Unit, and a wide-ranging conversation ensued.

There was a relatively sizable crowd on hand, too, at least 30 people ringing the Southwest Precinct meeting room, and many brought questions including an increasingly common one – what to do when you think you hear gunshots?

As is usual for the WSCPC’s monthly meetings, Operations Lt. Pierre Davis started with an update on crime trends. He had little to report, saying that property crime is still “doing quite well” – as in, on the low side of average rates – and reminding those in attendance that residents’ help is vital, with 911 calls and Block Watches. He mentioned a “disturbing trend in youth activities” but said they know who they are looking for and hope to make arrests soon. (That seemed to dovetail with what the Gang Unit guests discussed later in the meeting.)

After a few minutes, again as per the meeting’s usual format, Lt. Davis invited questions.

The first came from a resident who said two people in her area had doors kicked in by burglars, between 40th/41st and Dawson/Hudson. (Same incidents noted in our Crime Watch roundup last night.) She noticed a lot of graffiti in the area “and a lot of people hanging out in the area,” so they’re asking for more patrols in the area.

Second question asked about how Predictive Policing, newly deployed in SPD, is being used, and how that relates to the fact that some communities under-report crime. Lt. Davis replied that it’s “just a tool” and does not prevent officers from being deployed in other areas where things are happening. Speaking of tools, he also was asked what’s happening with the data and feedback gathered in the recent round of community outreach via the “Safe Communities” initiative; Lt. Davis said he’s just heard that decisions resulting from community feedback will be incorporated into next year’s budget.

In response to another question, Lt. Davis said there are “walking beat” officers in West Seattle – deployed at various times on various areas of the peninsula.

Dorsol Plants, who is public-safety rep from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, asked about how homeless encampments are being dealt with. Lt. Davis said that right now, most of the emphasis on dealing with encampments is focused on “Nickelsville”; no specific incidents were mentioned.

A Delridge-area resident said she had heard gunfire multiple times in her neighborhood and she’s wondering what police are doing to curb that, and why doesn’t she hear helicopters? Lt. Davis acknowledged there’s been “an upswing” in gunfire incidents – and said there’s been “a nexus” relating to recent incidents. He mentioned the Charlestown/Avalon robbery/shooting incident – you’ll recall that police did not confirm for days that it was indeed an attempted robbery – and said that other incidents sometimes don’t turn out to be what they originally seem to be. The resident then said she meant the “full clip of shots” that she believes she’s heard; she referred to an incident at 2:30 am Saturday. She just wanted to make sure it was on police radar, and Lt. Davis said it was.

What about the 20th/Cloverdale house that’s been repeatedly shot at? “There’s been a letter developed for individuals in that house saying they’re close to being a nuisance house and will be dealt with,” Lt. Davis said.

The evening’s special guests got back around to that specific case before ong.

Lt. Dan Whelan - lieutenant for gang, robbery, fugitive unit – joined Detective Clayton Agate at the top of the meeting. He explained that the crimes handled by the units he supervises are “all violent crimes” – 32 detectives in the unit, 4 sergeants. 8 detectives work in robbery – on all cases except juveniles, which are the responsibility of the precincts, “in hopes they’ll work better with the suspects’ families.” Two detectives in the robbery unit work on the Puget Sound Robbery Task Force with the FBi.

The fugitive unit has two detectives, plus a third assigned to the U.S. Marshals’ Pacific NW Task Force.

14 detectives and three sergeants work on the gang unit – about two-thirds of them (9 detectives) at night, six assigned part-time to the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. Lt. Whelan talked about the interface with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and how they work with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to see where it’s most appropriate to prosecute criminals such as felons in possession of firearms “to make sure that person gets as much (prison) time as possible.”

Gang Unit detectives like Agate wear uniforms, unlike other detectives in SPD, because “we want them to be distinctive.” And, he said, “we want them to know every gang member in the city of Seattle.” And that might make them think twice, when gang members see the police who know them. Not everyone who might claim to be a gang member is one, though, he cautioned.

So who’s in gangs? 14-18 year olds, “living a lifestyle where at their home it’s so bad that it’s a viable option for them to join a criminal gang … it might even be an improvement over what they have at home,” said Lt. Whelan. “They’re frightened and insecure individuals, and very antisocial, and don’t have much compunction in hurting people, and their violence is pretty stupid and pretty senseless.”

He noted repeatedly during the meeting that thieves – gang or otherwise – are targeting people with “Apple products” – iPhones, iPods – and earbuds are dead giveaways. “These kids … usually ride Metro routes, and if they see somebody with earbuds, they’re an instant target,” though they also evaluate targets for vulnerability. (Later, he again repeated his advice against using earbuds in public, comparing citizen-vs.-criminal to something like deer vs. predators – saying the former survive because they are always on alert: “Of all the nature shows I’ve seen on TV, I’ve never seen a deer with earbuds.”)

So, the big question – is there a gang problem here? According to Lt. Whelan: “We do have a situation in West Seattle.” With that, he handed the spotlight over to Det. Agate to talk about the 20th/Cloverdale situation, while cautioning he couldn’t share a lot.

He says it traces back to the 9200 block of Delridge bus-stop shooting back in November, in which one person was shot in the leg, someone else grazed. “That’s when we first came to know some of the individuals involved. … Then it was quiet for a few months, until March.” The house in question has been targeted four times, March 9th-April 2nd, Det. Agate said. And police believe, he said, that there is some association between the November shooting victim and someone with ties to that house, even though everyone they’ve talked to there denies gang involvement. He did not get more specific – they had warned that they would not be able to, without jeopardizing the ongoing investigation.

That’s when the topic of “what to do when you hear gunfire” resurfaced. DO call, the detective stressed. A call about gunfire is “high urgency” for police; Community Police Team Officer Jon Kiehn elaborated that the number of calls is also an indicator of a higher urgency level – so DO call, even if you’re certain somebody else did. Referring to the question earlier in the meeting, Officer Kiehn said there were no confirmed gunfire calls on Saturday – meaning officers responded but found no evidence of gunfire, no casings, no property damage – so it would be logged as a “disturbance.”

When you call, Det. Agate said, try to be as specific as you can regarding the number of shots you think you heard, and the direction from which they were heard. And yes, he said, even though many calls turn out to be fireworks, they would rather get called about them than not be called and later “find someone bleeding in an alley.”

The recent activity seems to be tied to a gang whose name we won’t publish in its entirety, but the initials are VL. You might have seen its name in graffiti vandalism around south West Seattle; be sure to report that graffiti, the police said.

“You have very active juveniles who associate with gangs in West Seattle, and it’s getting more active.”

What exactly are they fighting over? asked one attendee.

“That’s one of the key points we’re trying to find out,” said Det. Agate, noting that there was a fight a few days before the bus stop shooting, between some VL associates and associates of another area gang. That’s one theory; drug sales is another theory. The attendee then said, “I’ve been here five years and I’ve seen it get dramatically worse in the past six months,” and wondered why.

“I can tell you that one of the victims of the shooting” – which they caught up with later – “was not from the area. … Whether that shows us that the gang members are coming from out of the area and trying to stake claim to the Delridge corridor, I can’t say.”

Will the legalization of marijuana change the way gangs work? Det. Agate was asked. He said he’s seen an increase in home-invasion robberies related to marijuana grows, since dispensaries started opening up. The lieutenant added that he’s not expecting legalization to solve the problems inherent in drug-related crime – buying it legally, “with a huge tax,” may not be everyone’s choice, so he believes an underground market will remain. Growers are arming themselves, the lieutenant added, and that can make the situation more dangerous; he believes growers and sellers are targets because “they have something (the robbers) want.”

He noted then that the gang problem has evolved: When he first got here in 1980, “there were no gangs,” said the lieutenant – but then older gang members headed up here from California, “easy pickings to run prostitutes, sling dope … they had some connections in California.” Then in the late ’80s, crack cocaine led to an increase here and in other cities. There were three main gangs back then “who would shoot it out with each other,” he said. Usually not fatally. But “things have changed dramatically.” And now the problem has headed from here into the smaller South King County cities (Tukwila to Kent); he mentioned the Kent car-related shooting in summer of 2011. He said they’ve been investigating “Hispanic gangs” since then and hinted at a possible “grand-slam home run,” multi-agency, breakthrough sometime soon.

Investigators around the region are in close communication electronically, said the lieutenant – “we are exchanging information with all the local jurisdictions; it’s very, very productive.”

The lieutenant’s parting words involved blaming much of the violence on “boys between the ages of 14-26 … Why? Testosterone. (They’re) aggressive … you don’t stop and think, you just go out and do stuff.” Violent youth don’t have “a mom and a dad grabbing us by the hair, pulling us back and telling us no. A lot of them don’t have it. … That’s who we’re dealing with. These kids we see out here, very poor circumstances. They’re not going away. We’re going to have to find a solution.”

(Not that crime is limited to the young; he also recapped the tale of the two bank robbers in their ’60s whose spree, including a West Seattle heist, started when both got out of prison and got back to their heroin habit; they recently were sentenced, as reported here.)

When it comes to self-protection – use common sense. “The Seatte Police Department can’t protect you 24/7, we do our best … but if you’re going to learn to live in an urban environment, you’re going to have to learn to live in an urban environment … use direct deposit .. a locking mailbox …” And keep reporting what you see and hear: “We could solve most of the shootings in the city of Seattle within 24 hours if every citizen came forward with the information, but they don’t … there is an active ‘don’t snitch’ ethic that is killing us, killing them, and hurting you guys … we need people to talk. There’s no penalty (for) calling.”

The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets third Tuesdays, 7 pm, at the SW Precinct.

He’s one of a kind.

Det. Christopher Young, the Seattle Police Department‘s lone graffiti detective, made a guest appearance at last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, debunking graffiti myths and sharing case histories with more than two dozen people, who identified themselves as being from all over the peninsula, plus White Center. (The detective, for his part, said he’s a former West Seattleite.)

He began with the “top 4 graffiti myths.”

*”It’s all gang-related.”
Only about 1 percent is, he said.

*”It’s mostly done by kids.”
Wrong – about three-fourths of graffiti is by adults.

*”It’s all about the art.”
Wrong; he characterized it as thrill-seeking and ego-feeding behavior, for adrenaline rushes and attention. And it’s an addictive subculture, he said.

*“If you give them a legal place to paint, they won’t do it illegally.”
Wrong – that doesn’t speak to the motivation mentioned in myth #3.

And that motivation presents a challenge for enforcement, Det. Young noted in response to a question about tags on elevated freeway signs, high up on slopes, buildings, and walls, etc. – the vandals are willing to risk their life to do it, but “we’re not willing to risk our lives [in that way] to catch them.”

What’s actually the penalty for graffiti vandalism? he was asked. “If the officer arrests the person, they’ll spend the night in jail – if it’s a first offense, that’s all the jail time they’ll do,” plus 100 to 200 hours of community service, he replied. Is that graffiti-cleaning community service? “My understanding is that’s one of the things they do.”

Wondering how the city’s one-and-only graffiti detective spends his time?

The list on his PowerPoint slide went something like this:

*Reads all graffiti reports
*List suspect tag as an alias
*Follow up on solvable cases
*Consider jail interview for in-custody cases
*Consider seeking/executing search warrants on phones and cameras

Seeking photos from a suspect’s cell phone is because “the whole point of doing it now is to get it online” – so the vandals take and post the photos.

The process for that can be cumbersome, but, he said, can pay off. A lot of his job involves working as an analyst – with documentation and tracking, from research to combing through websites. And one of the most important things he does, in Det. Young’s view, is putting together and issuing “bulletins,” about suspected vandals that other officers can keep an eye out for.

He also has gathered intelligence using “covert cameras” at tagging hot spots – and some of those images, along with images from scenes where he has executed search warrants, comprised a presentation he asked those in attendance not to photograph or videotape.

One man in his 20s who was caught “with paint on his fingers matching paint on the wall” along Aurora gave a “de facto confession,” Det. Young said, by going with him to a certain area and being convinced to point out what graffiti he did NOT do; patrol officers apparently had thought this man was accountable for everything in the area. He got out of jail one day in January last year, and “went out and tagged that same night.”

Among the photos he showed were those of the suspect’s room – “every tagger’s room I go into is a shrine for graffiti.” (He had traced the address through a search warrant with an Internet company, pointing to a Comcast residential account.)

What was found in this suspect’s house also included examples he described as follows:
*Every tagger has a “piece” book – “masterpiece” – where they keep practicing their tags
*Also “slapstickers” where they do their tag on a sticker: “that’s like their business card”
*”They take the tools of their trade very seriously” – paint nozzles bought online in bulk
*Forensic analysis was done on the suspect’s computer, where the detective says he “found the smoking gun” – a photo taken at crime scene by victim, matching a photo found on the suspect’s computer.

Another case study centered on the creator of a tag that was large and illegible, causing the detective to quip that “one of the most important things I can do is to read the graffiti.” He then said North Seattle has a much-worse graffiti problem than West Seattle and showed a Green Lake-area tunnel where he had set up an infrared camera, the type marketed to hunters to track their targets at night.

After another case history involving suspects who were “too drunk to get away,” he declared that graffiti is a “gateway crime” – insisting you can’t be “a normal citizen by day and a tagger by night … If you keep tagging, it puts your life in a downward spiral.”

Some taggers are enabled by those who love them, he said, including another case-history subject whose home also was found via Internet tracking, turning up a stepmom who was buying paint for the suspect, and another room where the suspect had covered the walls with graffiti, without the homeowner – his father – noticing and/or caring. That suspect’s vandalism targeted, said the detective, included a school near his father’s house.

From there, the discussion proceeded more as a dialogue than as a briefing; several in attendance were eager to mention places where they had seen tagging. Det. Young explained that with a handful of people responsible for so much damage at any given time, he tries to focus on the worst offenders, rather than one-off type cases. And if it’s gang graffiti, he said, that’s more for the Gang Unit detectives to handle. Asked how to recognize that kind of graffiti vandalism, he said it’s “usually a little easier to read, a little simpler,” while cautioning that what looks like gang graffiti may just be the work of wanna-be “young kids who think it’s cool.”

In one specific local case, an attendee asked him about the Schmitz Park Bridge, which “used to have beautiful graffiti art, and in the past four or five years has turned into a mishmash”; he said his home overlooks the area and he sees people “tag like crazy” many nights.

“I did not know that,” said Det. Young. “Have you called 911 when you see this?”

“I’ve done it a few times …” said the man. His concern was not just the tagging, but the fact he sees the vandals “getting liquored up and high” and then getting back into their cars afterward and taking off.

The detective promised to look into that potential hotspot.

As for solutions:

What about spray-paint restrictions? he was asked. He said he doesn’t think that would do much good, and even if it would, he noted, there’s a “big industry lobby group” against it.

So if you see graffiti and clean it off/paint it over as soon as possible, are you supposed to report it to someone? he was asked. Take a picture and report it, Det. Young suggested. In the longer run, he said, he is working on getting SPD to facilitate online reporting of graffiti, which isn’t possible yet, because, he said, their reporting system doesn’t allow uploading of photos.

SPD’s online resources regarding graffiti can be found here.

COMING UP @ CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: They’re hoping to have a Gang Unit speaker at next month’s meeting, April 16th. And a safety walk through Lincoln Park remains on the schedule for June 4th.

OPEN CASES: Nothing major in Lt. Pierre Davis‘s crime-trends update; he says recent arrests have “driven the numbers way, way down” in the property-crimes department. (Anecdotally, we’ve noticed a decline the past few weeks, from reader reports to scanner traffic to official reports.) No arrests yet in two cases he was asked about – the attempted robbery/shooting at Southwest Athletic Complex and the multiple drive-by (non-injury) shootings at a 20th/Cloverdale home.

Most people don’t know that the Seattle Police Department has a detective solely devoted to graffiti crimes. Detective Christopher Young will discuss all aspects of graffiti crimes including the reporting of graffiti, how to identify gang graffiti, the prosecution of graffiti crimes, ways to deter graffiti, and how graffiti is often correlated with more serious crimes.

Everyone’s welcome – 7 pm Tuesday (March 19th), Southwest Precinct meeting room (right off the parking lot, enter from SW Webster just west of Delridge). As always, police will discuss recent crime trends, and there’s time for attendees to bring up their neighborhood concerns too.

(From left, Lt. Pierre Davis; WSCPC president Richard Miller)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

While the Seattle Police Department‘s in-the-works surveillance cameras have drawn lots of attention lately (WSB coverage archive here), another technological tool that’s about to be deployed came to light at this week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting: New data-crunching technology to be used for “predictive policing” – anticipating crime before it happens, to make sure resources are deployed in the right places.

Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis mentioned the new system almost in passing while answering questions about various neighborhood trouble spots. He described it as something that will enable officers on the street to get “cheat sheets” as crime trends are crunched on a daily basis; other departments around the country use it and in some areas have experienced a significant reduction in crime.

Lt. Davis told WSB after the meeting that the system is expected to be in use around March 24. It’s known as PredPol for short – that’s the name he used, and that’s even the company’s handle on Twitter – but the company that sells the technology is named Predictive Policing. It originated with the Los Angeles Police Department, according to its website, which describes how it works.

The city website includes a brief mention in a news release about last week’s update on the SPD 20/20 project, with which Lt. Davis has been closely involved.

Ahead, what else he mentioned to the council, as well as other toplines from the meeting:

Lt. Davis acknowledged a spike in burglaries in late January/early February, attributing it in large part to some previous offenders getting out of jail. He then mentioned the recent arrest that’s been mentioned here twice – the day it happened, and in the most recent WSBeat roundup – the arrest of a man Lt. Davis said confessed to 10 more burglaries after being gotten caught while allegedly trying to break into a home at 48th and Findlay. His arrest (though it’s since been reported he was not jailed that day) was followed by a “dramatic” drop in the burglary rate, noted Lt. Davis: “Seeing how this individual is under wraps and it’s been fairly quiet …” He said the suspect had been prolific in the William sector (western West Seattle), according to Lt. Davis, apparently because of a heroin habit. “Hopefully we can keep him behind bars for a long, long time” – if charged/convicted. (We are still working to get a more-detailed followup on the case’s status.)

He was asked about the recent street robberies, particularly the one on 28th; he mentioned there had been arrests in connection with some cases – that same night, there were at least two others – but couldn’t attribute any to that case in particular. He issued a general warning that many street robbers are going after smartphones, iPhones in particular.

Another question had to do with the prominently parked, rundown RVs that tend to spark neighborhood suspicions; he said that issue had been escalated to the mayor’s office and even came up at a recent SPD command-staff meeting – they’re working on how to handle it while being careful about the fact that some might simply be inhabited by otherwise-homeless people.

Lt. Davis was asked to put the current West Seattle crime rate in perspective as compared to the rest of the city. A little better than some areas, he replied, without specifics. (You can look up the data here.) And better than the past – but he urged everyone to remain watchful, maintain strong Block Watches, etc.

Since one of the expected guests at the meeting – a Seattle Parks manager – was a no-show, the Q/A with Lt. Davis continued. One attendee asked why the same people keep committing crimes – who’s responsible for them being back on the streets? Is it the courts, the prosecutors, or? they asked, exclaiming: “It’s frustrating!”

Lt. Davis acknowledged that, and said it’s an “age-old problem – how do we keep these guys behind bars?”

“Are the prosecutors doing their job?” Yes, they are. But they may not have hard and fast evidence. Or, maybe it’s a juvenile and they get a lighter sentence.

“The wheels of justice, they don’t turn like a sports car, they turn like a Flintstone mobile,” observed one attendee.

Have patience, advised Lt. Davis.

VICTIM SUPPORT TEAM: The rest of the meeting was devoted to a presentation on the SPD Domestic Violence Victim Support Team, by Sarah Sorensen, a West Seattleite.

It’s a program that trains and deploys volunteers to help victims in a situation that is more common than you might realize – in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, Sorensen said, SPD responded to almost 50,000 domestic-violence calls. Over the decade preceding that year, in our state alone, domestic violence claimed 359 lives – including 32 children.

“Why doesn’t s/he leave?” people always ask, Sorensen observed. It takes someone 7 times to leave a situation for good, she explained. The victim may not have the income, might not have anywhere else to leave, might be in the country illegally and be afraid to reach out for help.

Half of those who were killed, were killed after they tried to leave.

And this isn’t just a problem for the families involved – it may be a problem for the community, the neighbors, those involved with the suspects, etc.

They provide food and diapers and items like a cell phone – “one of the ways an abuser isolates the victim is by breaking their cell phone.”

The abuser may deprive the victim of food and water, which keeps them from being able to think clearly through the next steps they need to take to protect themselves and their child/ren.

Volunteers also are trained how to assess their own safety as well as the scene where they respond to help victims – with crisis intervention that will get them through the next few days. “They’ll establish a relationship and get (the victim) connected to long-term resources,” Sorensen explained.

She says she has been doing this for six years and has never had a volunteer injured while assisting with domestic-violence intervention.

A free training session is coming up. And while they hope everyone they train goes on to volunteer, even if you never pull a shift, they have educated you, your community – and you’ve learned a lot about what police do, as well.

Volunteers make a difference in ways beyond connecting victims to services – since a victim might feel “re-victimized” by normal police behavior – as officers establish that a scene is safe and has stabilized, for example – so volunteers are liaisons in those crisis situations.

Noting that a meeting attendee was holding a dog, Sorensen pointed out that they also have programs to help people in crisis with their pets – since that even might be a reason for them not to leave, if their abuser taunts them by saying shelters don’t take pets.

They have two open houses coming up, she said. 3/7 and 4/13, no obligation. “Anyone is welcome to come and join us there.” Get your questions answered, and meet actual volunteers, to ask them directly what their work is like. Even only working weekends, these volunteers help almost 500 families a year.

PUBLIC SAFETY WALK: WSCPC president Richard Miller noted that a public-safety walk is set for 7 pm June 4th in Lincoln Park – mark your calendar.

The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council usually meets on third Tuesdays, 7 pm, at the precinct (Delridge/Webster).

(Crowded RapidRide bus boarding downtown 11/20/12, photo courtesy Ben Blain)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“The change we did was big – probably too big.”

So acknowledged Metro Transit planning supervisor David Hull during this month’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, which itself swerved back and forth along a list of topics that, too, was probably too big.

The change to which Hull referred was the September 29th Metro service change affecting numerous West Seattle routes, taking effect the same day as the launch of RapidRide C Line, replacing the 54/55 buses.

Metro’s received an earful and then some ever since, and is offering another chance tomorrow (Tuesday, November 27th) morning for West Seattle bus riders to sound off – at four stops along the RapidRide route, as detailed here.

At the WSCPC meeting, the changes’ effects on public safety – on board the buses, at the stations, along the roads with more buses and new features such as curb bulbs – were supposed to be the subject. But some attendees brought up gripes about reduced or changed service, too.

In the end, much was vented, little solved – but the venting itself might lead to something down the road. Metro reps again noted that some tweaks were in the works, likely for the February service change.

Ahead, what came up, what was said, and what’s next:

(Foreground from left, Metro’s David Hull, KC Executive’s transportation adviser Chris Arkills, SDOT’s Christine Alar, WSCPC president Richard Miller)
WSCPC president Richard Miller asked first why there was no clarity about Westwood being transformed into a major transit center as service changes proceeded. Reminders of that transformation will be evident again in two weeks, as the county is scheduled to resume work on projects related to the busy Route 120 bus line, including a curb bulb at 26th and Barton.

It was clear in the outreach process for RapidRide, dating back to 2008, contended Hull and County Executive’s Office transportation-policy adviser Chris Arkills, with the reminder that at one point the C Line was envisioned as ending at the Fauntleroy ferry dock, but was extended to Westwood after public input (here’s our January 2008 story).

Dot Beard, past WSCPC president, then brought in the concerns about transit cuts in Arbor Heights. Arkills addressed that, acknowledging it was a tough decision but they needed to cover as much as they could with what resources they had. While Arbor Heights had 4 1/2 percent of the ridership, its loop covered 18 percent of Route 21, he explained. He said something that had been mentioned at the Sustainable West Seattle Transportation Forum (WSB coverage here) – that some changes are being pondered for Arbor Heights, though not restoring it to its previous service level.

“There are a lot of competing needs,” Arkills said.

WSCPC president Miller pressed the point that while individual route concerns were discussed, there was no big-picture discussion that multiple routes were going to go to Westwood. He also said curb bulbs weren’t needed; Arkills disagreed, saying that Route 120 needs to make a connection there because of the grocery store available at Westwood Village.

Miller then brought up the topic of dozens of buses daily on his street. Metro’s David Hull then explained that Rapid Ride is an extension of what was the 54, and that people want more transit, but the side effect of that means more buses, and they need places for layovers, so “when you are running frequent service … and we are operating in mixed traffic, we fight this bunching problem, anything from a driver being slower to a driver loading someone with a (mobility issue) … So you are seeing two problems with the C Line. We totally underestimated the number of riders.”

He brought up the data they used for planning, from spring 2011 … We’ve been out taking counts and we’re seeing a 30 percent increase in riders.” So, he said, “The service is being used, and the side effect is a lot more buses on Barton. … The changes are made to make service convenient. I will be the last person to say the service change has been 100 percent successful in West Seattle … that’s why we have been adding trips to (various routes), changing operational practices, trying to prevent the buses from bunching … I think it’s a real value for the community. But the side effect is, buses.”

Crime/safety questions then came up. West Seattle Junction entrepreneur Dave Montoure asked about how Metro deals with inebriates in bus shelters, and also whether their fare-enforcement personnel have any authority beyond fare enforcement.

Hull said the former issue is a “societal issue”; they’ve removed glass from shelters and removed shelters when they have become a problem. Metro now has 69 transit officers, but they cover the entire county. A transit officer who was on hand agreed that it may be the shelter design; if there is a Metro problem, he advised Montoure, call 206-296-3311 and tell them there’s a Metro-related problem – they can issue trespass notices, for one, he said. He added that “undercover cops (are) riding buses now and they’re very good at what they do,” plus they have specific investigators and “beat cops who are actually answering the radio.” At any one time during the day, 6 officers are on duty, and 2 at night, so they might not respond immediately to a non-emergency complaint but – “If you don’t call, they’ll NEVER come,” he said.

Regarding the fare enforcers – they can intervene if it’s a life-safety issue, he said, but otherwise, they’ll call transit police. “They don’t have arrest powers” – they are not commissioned officers – “but they’re pretty good at what they do,” he stressed.

SPD Officer Kiehn noted that Seattle officers cannot issue trespass notices at bus stops, though, since they have no cooperative “memorandum of understanding,” so for SPD to come out, some crime has to have been committed.

“I am an experiment,” declared at that point Deputy Bill Kennamer, who is the “first transit resource officer,” assigned from White Center through Seatac, Burien, and Skyway.

Drinking from an open container is against the law, it was clarified at that point – but SPD doesn’t have the power to ban somebody from the Metro system as a result; transit police do.

The discussion went back to transit service. “Could there be a shuttle bus” to the end of Arbor Heights, Dot Beard asked. Executive’s office rep Arkills said “it’s a resource issue … shuttles tend to be expensive and not very cost-effective.” But if they somehow get more transit funding, “then we might be able to take a look at restoring some of that service.” For now, though, with C Line and Route 120 buses “packed to the gills,” he said, “we have to make some tough decisions,” and Arbor Heights ridership had been fairly low, mostly concentrated in the peak hours.

Hull jumped in to say that as a transit planner, what happened wasn’t necessarily what he wanted to see happen, but “we were given direction … take 100,000 hours of underperforming transit service and move it to where (it could serve) more people.” He also talked about the distribution of service around the county, between urban and non-urban areas, and guidelines that were laid out; he noted that other low-ridership routes were cut outside West Seattle too. “I’d like to have a GROWING system,” he said, but “we’re collecting less revenue today than we were in 2008.”

He stressed that they’re “still working” on West Seattle. “We understand (the problems).”

One attendee said that people in Arbor Heights who are not paying less taxes will remember this when the next election comes around – in terms of the county leaders (the executive and councilmembers) who made decisions. Hull replied that the councilmembers had tough decisions to make, as did the executive. “Dow Constantine didn’t cause the recession,” he noted.

Sharonn Meeks of Fairmount, who often commutes by bus, then asked about safety on the C Line – saying she’d heard there would be 16 officers riding it, and she has yet to see any. “There IS open drinking on the C Line, they are at the intersection of Alaska and Fauntleroy no a daily basis, no one is paying their fare, they get in the back door, they ride downtown, they get back on the bus, no one has paid. When do we start collecting the fares?” In particular, she said, fares are not being paid downtown – “there’s nowhere to tap your card.”

Deputy Kennamer said “the grace period ended this week … they are enforcing through citations.” He said he thought the 16 fare-enforcement officers were for all the RapidRide lines, not just the C Line. “Two people, for 24 hours a day?” Meeks added with incredulity. “Yes,” he said.

“This is becoming a real safety issue,” she said, at least for the area where she rides. “I can assure you .. there seems to be an element of continued drinking at bus stops in The Junction and the two intersections with bus stops now … there doesn’t seem to be much engagement on how to deal with these people. They are not paying they are riding the bus I’ve seen it at 7 am, 9 am, 2 in the afternoon, 9 o’clock at night. … The larger the crowd gets, they mingle in and out.” She says a growing group of people seem to be using Alaska/Fauntleroy for this purpose.

Bus rider Diane Vincent said she had seen this flouting, too – mentioning someone she’d seen swinging a bottle of alcohol. Meeks said, “If you can’t pull some of the 69 officers you have, to handle this situation, we’re going to have a major situation in the Junction area.”

Arkills reiterated, “Any time you see this, you should always report it,” including reporting it to the driver, though he acknowledges “not all divers are going to be as responsible,” but “be as specific as possible,” including the bus’s specific number. He went on to say, “Fare enforcement is expensive to do … but if you are doing this repeatedly, you are going to get caught,” which, he said, happened recently to his wife when she forgot to swipe her card. It’s a penalty of more than $120. Meantime, he said, bus stops draw criminals because “they like to stay dry” like others. “We’re aware of a lot of these problems and trying to address them as best we can.”

Meeks noted she’s been riding buses regularly for a quarter-century and never had this problem before. Arkills then acknowledged that the overcrowding of buses has made it tough to address this problem. She also contended that Rapid Ride isn’t on the 10-to-15-minute schedule that was promised, asking if the system has enough new buses to do that. Hull said “we have more buses now assigned to the C Line than was anticipated … to achieve, depending on the window of time.” He says right now they have enough buses for 7-minute intervals, but the problem is “they are bunching up.” And he noted something that was announced recently, buses stationed to “fill in gaps.” Then he said the “transit-signal priority” that is not installed on the D Line would eventually help.

When Meeks brought it back to the safety issue – what steps would be taken to make bus riders feel safe, including downtown – Christine Alar from SDOT said they are working with businesses on 3rd Avenue to try to address safety issues and have some grant money next year to focus on that corridor.

An attendee then brought up the problem of buses holding up traffic when a stop at a bus bulb takes longer, such as someone putting a bike on the rack in front of the bus. “I’m really upset about blocking an entire lane … I would like Metro to put their bus stop back the way it was, not block traffic, because it hasn’t really achieved anything.” Overall, he says, “I think Metro is great,” but the bus-bulb backups are bugging him. He also wondered about the cost of the fancy new stations.

Hull mentioned that the federal government paid for the “capital elements” of RapidRide – the bus stops, etc. He then said he feels the same frustration about getting stuck behind a bus, but overall, they are trying to make transit more frequent and faster for people. They have taken steps to “reduce the dwell time” at stops, he said.

North Delridge resident Dorsol Plants asked how much is being spent to fix problems cropping up on new lines versus problems on older lines.

They are adjusting the “running times,” Hull said, to better reflect what’s become reality on certain legs of bus routes.

Patrick Baer, also from North Delridge, talked about the difficulty of getting to The Junction via Westwood – “it costs up to $5 to get to The Junction – I could walk there.” He said he’s glad he can afford the fares but he knows many can’t, and he wishes fares hadn’t been raised so frequently. Arkills said the county doesn’t like to raise fares but they need to try to support the service. “We are starting in January a Low-Income Task Force,” he said.

Baer also asked about intersections with uncontrolled left turns, which leads to lots of waiting. SDOT’s Alar said that plays into the signal-priority issue, which has to be “balanced” in some spots.

The attendee concerned about bus bulbs said he had video showing a bus going around a bus by using the center lane. “So are you just going to let buses keep blocking lanes?” he asked. At that point, other attendees said they would like to hear some of the other issues – so that proceeded.

Barbara Dobkin from White Center brought up the issue of paying 2 fare zones to go to Westwood Village from her area when in the north end a much longer distance is charged as one zone. Arkills said they are looking at eliminating or at least modifying the zone system for buses, realizing “it’s an inequity.” It’s on next year’s “work plan,” he says. She also expressed concerns about service cuts to White Center in general, particularly considering the community’s percentage of lower-income. “I don’t know why our community was cut off – we lost a lot of bus service in White Center.”

Then came the issue of information displays that are supposed to answer the question “when’s the next bus?”, which for C Line aren’t working right now. Hull mentioned they will be “piggybacking” on a new fiber-optic system that SPD will be using. RapidRide, he said, is an issue of all its components coming together – and some are missing, like transit-signal priority, as mentioned earlier. Arkills said they are working with One Bus Away – which contrary to common belief Metro does not run – to try to improve it.

Having listened to all that, Officer Kiehn observed that it seems to be a variety of issues, not one big case of “the whole system is shot.”

Arkills said there’s a process under way to survey West Seattle riders (as reported here).

Regarding security problems, they want to hear about problems in specific zones.

The big message was: Just keep reporting problems, challenges, concerns – that message was both spoken and implicit.

“The few minutes that you might wait behind a bus is not a lifetime – slow down and live a little,” suggested Betty Wiberg later.

The issue of Sound Transit 560 cutting off its West Seattle leg was also brought up, and defended by the public officials here. (They mentioned the alternatives such as taking 50 to the light-rail stations. 128 also goes to the airport, it was mentioned.)

If you have feedback for Metro – as we mentioned earlier, tomorrow (Tuesday, November 27) will see reps at four RapidRide station/stops in West Seattle – as explained here. Or, contact Metro via e-mail.

The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets the third Tuesday of most months, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct. Next month, on January 15th, the topic will be safety/security in Seattle Public Schools.

The briefing:

Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen said that a spike in property crimes about a month ago is over because of recent arrests – the rate had dropped back down in the past week or so. He says the year overall remains on track around 20 percent below last year’s property-crime rate – a year that in turn was about 20 percent above the long-term average.

Another “bump” may be ahead, he warned, because it’s “that crazy time of the year, the holidays,” when thieves and burglars are after items you’ve bought for gifts, maybe even before you get them into your vehicle or home: “(When shopping) you become more of a target, so be aware of your surroundings, look around,” Capt. Paulsen warned, adding that there will be more police presence at Westwood Village and The Junction – not on overtime, but by “shuffling around” resources. He also cautioned people to arrange for deliveries in ways that won’t lead to packages unattended on front doors.

Betty asked about the Fairmount Springs break-in reports that circulated one week ago (they’re in this WSB Crime Watch roundup), apparently targeting homes inhabited by women, home alone. The cases were news to Capt. Paulsen and Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn, who monitor for patterns, but said these hadn’t surfaced as one. Another attendee said she had come to ask about the incidents too, and the perception that there might be a known suspect who hadn’t yet been arrested. Police promised to check into these cases ASAP.

One attendee brought up mail theft and asked if police could “set up a sting.” Short answer: No, since it’s a federal-jurisdiction crime, but if you see it happening, do call 911, the citizen was told, since, Capt. Paulsen said, they have caught mail thieves “over the years.” He was also advised to look into a locked mailbox. Immediately after the exchange, he and Officer Kiehn started a followup conversation.

Now, Part 2 of this roundup: The latest reader reports – five in all, the first two with photos:

Kevin shares that photo from 45th and Dakota and reports:

Late (last) night/ early AM, someone stole the taillight assemblies from my 2012 Toyota pickup. It was a neat job, but the dealer says they are $249 each to replace. Two days ago my neighbors found an abandoned, but new, auto emergency kit on their front curb. It looks like someone’s working the neighborhood

Next, a photo that might help solve a burglary:

Louis is circulating that surveillance photo in hopes someone recognizes the silver car with the extensive rear-end damage. He says it’s linked to a burglary on the south end of Beach Drive that happened between noon and 2:30 pm November 5th. Contact police if you know whose car it might be.

A victim of vandalism, who wanted to be anonymous, reports:

I woke up this morning to find that my car that I parked on Delridge Way and Alaska was egged. 2x on the driver’s door/window and 1x on roof of my car. … I have no reason to believe anyone that I knew could have done this.

The victim says it happened sometime between Sunday night and this morning.

Doug reported last Friday that his “townhouse @ 17th and Henderson St SW was broken into but nothing was taken. Amazing. The downstairs sliding glass door was broken out. It appears person(s) were inside. My front door was unlocked when I got home. Can’t believe nothing was taken.”

And finally, Sarah in the 6000 block of Fauntleroy reports something last night that might not have been linked to crime, but she offered a heads-up just in case:

Before 9:00 pm a man dressed in black clothing wearing a baseball hat was knocking on my door. He wouldn’t look up so I could see his face through the peep hole. He had a clip board in hand and was flipping through the papers, making it look like he was checking something. The knocking was light and constant but not loud enough for my neighbor to hear. I watched him through the peep hole but never asked who it was or answered the door. It seemed suspicious. I hope no one else falls for this and opens their doors.

Police have said it before and they said it again tonight: If you see anything suspicious, call 911. (Sarah did.)

Our November meeting will focus on how the recent Metro Transit route changes and the creation of a Transit Center in the Westwood neighborhood have impacted West Seattle. Our guests will include Dale Cummings, Senior Transit Planner (Metro); Mike Bergman, Service Planning Manager (Sound Transit); and Christine Alar, Transit Planning and Policy (SDOT).

The meeting is at 7 pm Tuesday, November 20th, in the meeting room at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), everyone welcome, with your chance to not only ask questions of the guests but also to bring up community concerns to the Seattle Police leadership in attendance.

Second, from Chelsea:

I wanted to let you know about some vandalism happening in the 4800 block of Fauntleroy Way SW. On Saturday (10/6) between midnight and 7:00 a.m. the passenger side mirror was ripped off of my vehicle. The car was parked on Fauntleroy directly in front of my building in a well lit area. I heard two men arguing around 2:30 a.m. but can’t see the street from my unit. No other vehicles on the block were damaged.

This morning (10/10) at 7:30 a.m. I saw that another vehicle had the same damage (mirror broken and hanging from the wires). No other vehicles in the block were damaged. When I took the dog out at 10 p.m. last night, the vehicle was intact, so the damage happened sometime between 10 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.

I have filed an incident report with the police department.

Finally, the official announcement from the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council – the special guest for next week’s WSCPC meeting will be Ian Goodhew, chief of staff for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Got a question about what happens AFTER someone is arrested? Why are plea bargains made? Why are sentencing recommendations sometimes seem light? He’s the expert. 7 pm Tuesday, October 16th, Southwest Precinct meeting room, all welcome.

CASE UPDATES: Both from what was publicly discussed at the meeting and what we checked with police about – First, Monday night’s search in Sunrise Heights and western Delridge, after a man refused to pull over for police, then finally got out and ran (here’s our original report). He still hasn’t been caught, but police believe they know who they’re looking for. Second, last week’s afternoon gunfire at 26th and Hudson, which left a bullet hole in a windshield (but no injuries) – here’s the photo from our coverage that day:

Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis says some of the suspects are “known” in this case too, but it’s taking time to round them up. The incident also has raised flags within the department about what’s currently going on along the Delridge corridor, so they’re taking a look at changing patrol patterns.

MORGAN HOUSE: A half-dozen or so frustrated neighbors came to the meeting to ask what can and will be done about a house along Morgan, not far west of 35th. It was discussed here two weeks ago, when the house in question was the scene of an arrest linked to a theft case. The suspect spent two days in jail. To date, he is not yet charged. The problem at the house goes beyond that suspect, commenters wrote. At tonight’s meeting, they asked how to get it cleaned up. Lt. Davis said police are aware of the house and people associated with it. The bigger-picture solution was discussed by precinct liaison Melissa Chin from the City Attorney’s Office, who talked about gathering documentation that can be presented to a wide range of authorities – the city Department of Planning and Development as well as police and prosecutors.

ALSO FROM THE PRECINCT LIAISON: She was among those at the Bamboo Bar and Grill meeting August 22nd (WSB coverage here), following the early morning shooting/fight three days earlier. She says talks continue with Bamboo and multiple agencies, and that there’s a meeting ahead following up on the incident as well as “issues” regarding their liquor license. (Side note: We just checked, and the man charged in the case, Michael Helmer, remains in the King County Jail, with his next court appearance scheduled later this week.)

CRIME TRENDS: Lt. Davis described it as a mild summer, with preventive measures dating back to late spring apparently paying off. The summertime change of responsibilities for the Community Police Team officers is over, he said, and as of this month, they are back to focusing on CPT work. One warning: The start of school and the shorter days often mean daytime burglaries increase, so be wary, alert, and focused on prevention. And if you see/hear someone/something suspicious, call 911.

The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets most months on the third Tuesday, 7 pm, at the SW Precinct.

In Q/A, a question about graffiti led to a vigorous discussion:

Lt. Davis did not have statistics on hand regarding the number of reports – he said that would require some research. But he noted that graffiti/tagging vandalism is handled in a variety of ways – Seattle Public Schools handling their property, city departments such as Parks handling their property, and private property owners accountable for cleaning up their property. A few spots of ongoing concern were brought up by attendees, such as the vacant houses on the site of the future Vesseliye development (our report from earlier this month was brought up – it includes a photo), and the 5-years-vacant Chuck and Sally’s Tavern at California/Graham. (The city has a “graffiti nuisance” law requiring property owners to remove graffiti after a specified time – the ordinance is here.)

One more topline from the meeting: WSCPC president Richard Miller would like to hear from anyone with safety concerns about bus stops; he says he’s working with Metro on a tour of stops that seem problematic. (westseattlecpc@gmail.com)

WSCPC plans to resume regular meetings in September, second Tuesdays, 7 pm, SW Precinct. In the meantime, sign your block up for Night Out (August 7th), and keep an eye out for more details on this year’s Picnic at the Precinct (August 11th).

(Parks boss Christopher Williams, left, and WS Crime Prevention Council president Richard Miller)
How safe are West Seattle’s parks, and can they be made safer?

Those questions – stirred by last month’s unsolved murder of Greggette Guy, who police have said they believe was killed at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint – led the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council to invite acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams to its April meeting. (Here’s our separate update on the murder case itself.)

Williams, who grew up in West Seattle and is a Chief Sealth graduate, spoke and answered questions – as did two Parks managers who accompanied him – for more than 45 minutes in the Southwest Precinct meeting room on Tuesday night.

No big announcements, no “aha” moments, not even any extensive discussion of (nor questions about) Schmitz Viewpoint – but here’s how it unfolded (including video, if you would like to see and hear for yourself):

That’s our unedited video of Williams’ guest appearance. Now, the highlights:

Parks and Police work closely together, Williams said. But separate from SPD involvement, here are some of the factors that play into park safety:

*Maintenance
-How densely park is vegetated
-Inherent design factors that make it a safe place for people to hide out

*Park activation
-How well used is the park? Are there legitimate reasons for people to go there … activities, games, lights … one indicator is the number of women and small children you see there. (And if a park is not being used, why not?)

*You, the citizen: “We can’t have safe parks if people don’t pick up the phone and call 911 if people are not willing to report suspicious activities and behavior.”

He acknowledged concerns voiced by citizens about the safety of some West Seattle parks, but inferred they are often isolated concerns: For example, he says illegal activities in Lincoln Park are very low in proportion to how big it is.

Then he opened the floor to Q/A. First question came from a woman who said she lives near Longfellow Creek and had noticed lots of illegal activity, but recently, a lot of brush has come down – “is that going to help it a lot?” Especially along 26th, she said, “You see people who don’t LOOK like nature lovers,” and she also wondered about prostitution.

“We’re doing this all over the system,” said a Parks manager who accompanied Williams. The acting superintendent followed up by mentioning Parks restoration/invasives-removal work.

When the Longfellow Creek resident asked about how broken glass and other detritus is cleaned up, Williams talked about budget cuts that have hit Parks in recent years, and decisions his staff has to make about how to get “the greatest bang for the buck” with their limited resources. They maintain parks to a “clean, safe standard,” Williams said, but that may not mean they can get out to pick up every patch of broken glass. There’s a lot of reliance on park stewards and other volunteers, said Carol Baker, who leads Parks maintenance in this area. If you see something you think Parks needs to address, “give us a call.”

Williams then reminded everyone there is a consolidated “code of conduct” for Seattle Parks (see it here), with a list of what behaviors are illegal, or require a permit. “The rules are pretty straightforward and not as obscure as people try to allege that they are,” said Williams.

Could inmates do maintenance work, as they do sometimes at sites? Williams said that veers into “labor agreement” territory. “We are doing some creative things and we ARE pushing the envelope on volunteer activity,” he did say.

Asked about Lincoln Park, he said they don’t get a lot of reports of illegal activity there. Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen jumped in at that point and said that most of the reports they get involves juvenile drinking – so officers will go in but it’s like “herding cats … as far as crime, dangerous crime, it’s mostly kids.”

What about hiking there alone at night? a woman followed up. You might want to walk with somebody, wherever you are, not just in that park or any park, the captain suggested.

Another issue brought up: Coyotes in Camp Long. “Does that present a problem (for humans)?”

William replied, “Urban wildlife is a serious issue” and recalled the “coexistence” workshops that have been held in the past. “We’re trying to make sure we are educating our neighbors.” He suggested maybe there should be workshops at Camp Long. And no, the Parks team replied on followup, coyotes have NOT attacked humans. The attendee found that hard to believe since she had seen a half-dozen or so together; Baker said they engage in “pack behavior” during the season when they are raising young, in particular.

Other topics:

*Williams acknowledged that it’s a problem that many parks don’t have bathrooms – which gets in the way of the “activation” he had spoken about earlier.

*Asked about 4th of July illegal-fireworks damage, “There are no good answers. On the one hand, closing a park just punishes the people who want to go to the park and use it legitimately, so we’ve tried to steer away from that.” They do staff parks on the 4th – racking up lots of overtime – and also rely on watchful neighbors. There remained a good deal of frustration on this point, and no real resolution.

*One attendee said more people should volunteer in ways big and small; he talked about picking up trash while out and about.

What about lights or security improvements? Such projects might be suitable for the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund, offered Pete Spalding, a meeting attendee who chairs the levy Oversight Committee (and also serves on the precinct’s Advisory Council). He mentioned the upcoming workshops for prospective applicants (as reported here; overall info about the Opportunity Fund can be found here).

OTHER CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL NOTES: Operations Lt. Pierre Davis announced Drug Takeback Day at the precinct 10 am-2 pm on April 28th, one week from this Saturday (here’s the listing on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar); Karen Berge from the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network mentioned that their next meeting is on April 24th and will feature Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn discussing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. She also announced that June 22nd will be the date for the group’s planned Blockwatch Captains appreciation event.

ORIGINAL 7:42 PM REPORT: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council seldom draws citywide media coverage, but a crew from channel 7 dropped in tonight to hear what Seattle Police had to say – and what citizens wanted to ask – about the Beach Drive murder case. Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen spent about half an hour talking, and answering questions. We have it all on video so you can see for yourself if you couldn’t be here; topline for starters – no breakthroughs to report, but Capt. Paulsen reiterated that if there was something the public needed to know to be safer, they wouldn’t hesitate to share it, and that the department “is putting everything we have” toward solving the case. The only bit of information about the case itself that he revealed, in response to a question, is that they do believe Greggette Guy was killed at or “very close to” the lower level of Emma Schmitz Memorial Viewpoint, during “evening” hours (the night before her body was found half a mile north). The meeting is still under way; more to come.

ADDED 9:36 PM: Added the video atop this story. It begins when Capt. Paulsen started speaking about the case, after spending about a minute and a half discussing other crime trends (major topline: car prowls are down dramatically), but otherwise is unedited, running 26 minutes, until no one had any more questions and he yielded the floor. Along the way, you will hear him address a few unrelated questions, including one about the recent Westwood Village gunfire (bottom line, no one arrested yet, but the Gang Unit is handling the case, and they don’t believe it was a random occurrence). (Still more to add from the meeting, re: other topics. P.S. We have created a coverage archive for all stories about this case, while it remains unsolved – find it here, with, as always, newest stories first.)

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: In case you can’t view the video, we have transcribed Capt. Paulsen’s opening statement about the Beach Drive case, before he invited Q/A, which focused on safety questions overall. Read on for that and notes from the meeting’s other speaker, an insurance-fraud expert with some eye-opening insights into car theft:

The transcript of everything Capt. Paulsen said before taking questions:

“I would love to be able to explain or answer questions – because we take these so seriously, as this type of crime .. we hold a lot of stuff close because our goal is to have the most professional, detailed and complete investigation, our goal is to get this person and to see it successfully through the court system.wth that, I don’t want to compromise the integrity of the investigation. That is also very important for you.

I can tell you, I’ve worked out here in WS since 2005, your West Seattle parks are safe – they do get a little busier in the warmer months, obviously … but we just did a check on what is the crime rates over on both the parks over on beach drive .. i think a lot of you saw those numbers posted … … very low numbers … i think a … I am comfortable in telling you those parks are safe. In light of the tragic homicide … One of the things i have done is thrown some extra patrol cars down in the area, it’s not so muc going to catch somebody or anything, but … this type of crim causes a lot of fear and we want to subside that fear by having this presence down there for you all. .. Trying to think what else I’d like to say in regards to that ..

If there was something that you needed to know that as our public, our citizens out here in West Seattle about your safety that you needed to be concerned about because we’re not expressing anything to you about the details – just know if there was something that I was concerned for your safety as a community, we would tell you, trust me, we would tell you, we would take steps to make sure you were all safe, hopefully you can kind of read between the lines of my cryptic messaging on that, so …

From there, he mostly sought to reassure questioners who wondered about the safety of walking on the beach, and whether there were any “personal safety devices” he would specifically recommend (no).

He also noted that he was moved and impressed by the 75-plus turnout for the walk and vigil on Sunday night (WSB coverage here), as a symbol of the fact Beach Drive neighbors are banding together. (Read Beach Drive Blog‘s thoughts on the situation, here.) And he reiterated two things you’ve heard here before over and over again, but can stand to be repeated again:
*Don’t hesitate to call 911. Don’t even bother trying to remember the non-emergency number. “Please just use 911,” he said.
*Get involved with Block Watch. Organize one if you don’t have one. (And join the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network, which meets again next Tuesday – follow the link to its website to watch for details.)

Keeping an eye out in your neighborhood was also a theme of the group’s guest speaker, Scott Wagner of the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

He had a long list of insurance-fraud crimes that might affect you – with a focus on cars. He talked about the 10 most-stolen cars – here’s the slide he put up with the current list:

Wagner declared that it would take him “about thirty seconds to steal one of these cars.” And he said those are often the models you’ll see “cruising your neighborhood,” since criminals tend to steal them to commit other crimes.

Some car thefts, he said, are springboards for other scams, such as stealing their vehicle-identification numbers, “cloning” cars – using one VIN for multiple stolen cars that are similar in appearance – etc. If you’re in the market for a used car, you can check its VIN at his organization’s website, nicb.org, he said.

If you’re selling, don’t fall for scams such as someone claiming they will have the money to buy the car as soon as an insurance settlement comes through. If you have questions and concerns, his organization has a hotline, 800-TELL-NICB (though it’s not a substitute for calling police, he said).

And if you happen to see a tow truck in your neighborhood, maybe even picking up a neighbor’s car or an abandoned car, don’t assume everything is legal and above-board – write down the time and the tow company’s name, Wagner suggested, because it might not be, and if a detective or fraud investigator comes around later asking if you saw anything, the information might be helpful.

Current top trends in car-theft include odometer fraud, component theft and resale – airbags are the biggest, according to Wagner, with GPS and DVD players right up there – and thefts of xenon headlights.

He discussed some high-tech equipment that’s circulating among auto thieves, but acknowledged it’s not very common.

UP NEXT FOR WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: After a quick vote at the end of the meeting, a nominating committee is in place to come up with a slate of officers for the volunteer group’s next election. Meantime, its next meeting will be April 17, 7 pm, at the Southwest Precinct as usual, and president Richard Miller says the guest speaker will be from the Parks Department.